Key winder



April 1937. H. E. RUBENS 2,077,715

KEY WINDER Original Filed Feb. 18, 1953 INVENTOR.

m Sw iatented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE my woman HarryErnest Rubens. New vol-n11. y.

Application February 1s, ms, Serial No. 051,319 Renewed January 28, 1937Claims. (01. 221-00) My invention relates to key winders for openingcans, rolling up paste tubes, and the like.

It has for its main object the provision of a simple means whereby thecontents of a paste tube may be completely expelled with a minimumeffort.

Another object consists in providing means, for

accomplishing which can be readily attached to any paste tube theaforementioned main object,

and as easily detached after rolling without unooiling the said tube.

Still another object of my invention consists in providing means whichwill permit the walls of a tube to be compressed with the fingers over al5 conveniently smooth surface, starting with the full tube.

A further object of my invention consists in providing means which canbe attached, to-tubes of various thicknesses, said means 20 silient asto grip the full tube, when not in use,

suiliciently re-l without loosening.

A still further object of my invention is-to' pro vide a device whichcan be madeiin a single 35 inexpensive to manufacture.- r

These and various other objects ended-vantages understood'frornthe'follo'wing-defrom the accompanying drawing of the preferredembodiments, but it willbe noted will be readily scription and thatmodifications might be madewithout-dparting from the spirit of theinventi'n or i .h'e sc 'n;vev of the annexed claims. In the drawing;

Figurelisarearviewof toapastetube. I

Figure 2 is a side view of thelldevice similarly attached.

Figme3isafrontviewofthes'me. I

50 Figure 4 is a plan view of therdevice beforejthe body is rolled.

Figure 5 is a similar view with bodyrolled into a cylinder.

Figure 6 is a to rolling.

plan view of an embodiment before the, device Figure 7 is an end view ofthe same after rolling.

Figure 8 is an ordinary ,coin used as the pro- P lling means.

Figure 9 is a view of the device as attached to, and expelling thecontents of, a nozzled medicinal tube.

As is indicated in Figure 4, the device consists initially in a flatblank of metal 9 comprising a handle Ill and a body ll separated by twotransverse slots l2. The next step consists in forming the body I Ilongitudinally into a cylinder, the two longitudinal edges of the bodyforming an elemental slot l3. Approximately one half of the width of theblank remains at the junction of the handle l0 and the body II and inthe forming process this metal is rolled with the body, the

rolling extending partially into the handle to form the rib ll. Thus thehandle is materially attached to the body for approximately one half thecircumference of the cylinder, giving the handle a torsional strengthwhich is structurally increased by the rib H. The handle Ill may beperforated at I! for convenience.

The reinforcing of the handle by the formation of. the rib it producestwo desirable results. It enables the handle to lie in a plane passingthrough the axis of the key body (see Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 9) thusenabling a turning couple to be applied directly to the key body whilewinding the key, eliminating any eccentricity in the movement of thehandle. It makes possible a reduction in the thickness of the sheetmetal employed to a thinness depending on the product in the tube wherecosts are reduced to a minimum.

That. portion of the slot l2, adjacent to the "handle, terminates in astop l6. This stop is formed in the initial blanking operation by the'die, its action forming the stop IS in one blank, ,anda correspondingindentation in the adjacent blank, similar in appearance to theindentation I designated by the reference numeral H. The "7 amount ofprotrusion of the stop I6 is approxiniately equal to the width of theslot l3. Thus when the body is rolled, the stop. I 8 arrives injuxtaposition to the indentation II, as indicated in Figure 5. Thismethod of forming the stop enables the keys to be formed successivelywithqout waste between blanks.

In Figure 1, the reference numeral l8 designates the lower portion ofthe paste tube sealed at the .lilling end with a clip is. The key isapplied to the tube by inserting the collapsed portion of the tube,adjacent to the clip, transversely into the slot ii, the clip isentering the tubular section of the body II. The tube is forced into theslot l3 and moved laterally until the stop l8 impedes its furtherprogress. One essential element of the invention comes into play at thispoint; that is the resiliency of the tubular wall of the body II whichenables the key to be attached to tubes of varying thicknesses and gripsthem with a resiliency sufficient to prevent accidental loosen- ,ing.This is important where an individual finds a key in a carton along withthe tube and inserts it on the tube before he has any immediate need forit. It must stay there while the tube is being handled so that no timeis spent looking for the key when its need materializes.

The eflect of the resiliency of the key makes a consideration of thediameter of the body unnecessary. For if the body did not grip the fulltube, even though no immediate need existed, then the diameter of thetube should be as small as possible consistent with the size of thesealing clip which it encloses. This would permit the key to beencircled as quickly as possible with the tube which would tend to holdthe key to the tube by friction. The resiliency eliminates thisquestion.

The key is now in position and ready for use and the body I I may bemanually rotated by the handle ill in either direction, the fingerspressing the tube against the body II and evacuating the contents as thehandle is turned.

In Figures 6 and 7 is shown a modification of the invention whichutilizes a coin or token, to be used where limitations of space forbidthe integral type of handle. The modification consists in providing twoslots 20 formed so that a token or coin 2! can be inserted therein andthe body Ila rotatably propelled as though it were integral with thecoin 20, as shown in Figure 7.

In Figure 9 is shown a type of tube l8a used for expelling its medicinalcontents within some .orifice of the body. It is sometimes necessary toexpel completely and in one operation, the entire contents of the tube.More often the contents consist of a thick viscous substance, resistingpressure and difiicult to expel through the long nozzle of the tube.Here the key clearly indicates its superior qualities by permitting thetube to be rolled up manually as the ingredients are completelyexpelled, the sealing clip stored within the key so that a smoothsurface is constantly presented, thus aiding in the complete evacuationof the contents. When the tube is completely wound upon the key, the twomay be separated by reversing the direction of rotation for a fractionof the turn, which action releases the key permitting it to be withdrawnwith ease laterally, without unwinding the tube. Attention is called totwo facts: first, that the tube is held in a stationary position as thekey is being rotatably propelled in a linear direction, and secondly,that the key must be so constructed as to permit rotation in eitherdirection, as occurs when the key is reversed, when detached.

In using the key on cans, the operation is almost identical. Theoverhanging lip of that portion of the can which is to be removed bywinding, is inserted into the slot i3, and the key is rotated so thatthe removable portion is wound up around the key. Thekey may be removedlaterally at anytime, similarly as indicated supra. In the manufactureof such a key, the diameter of the body should be large enough to avoidmultitudinous rotations and the slot i3 should be as small as possible,consistent with ease of appliauntie cation, and the length of bodysuiilcientto accommodate cans of various sizes.

Distinctive features of the invention are its simplicity, thus making iteasy to install; its low manufacturing cost, thus permitting universaluse; its design, thus permitting'smoothness of operation; itsaccessibility, thus permitting the tube to be rolled up wherever it isdesired to expel its contents; its detachability, thus permitting reuse;its convenience, thus permitting the tube to be hung up when not in use;its resiliency, thus permitting the key to be attached before using; andits size, thus enabling the key to be inserted in a carton with the tubewithout enlarging said carton.

I have accordingly described my invention, but I desire it understoodthat it is not confined to the particular form shown and described, thesame being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carriedout without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore Iclaim broadly the right to employ all equivalent instrumentalitiescoming within the scope of the appended claims and by means of which theobjects of my invention are obtained and new results accomplished, as itis obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and describedare only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objectsand accomplish these results.

I claim:

1. A key for a tube, the closed lower end of which tube is thicker thantwo wall thicknesses of said tube, comprising a cylindrical body; ahandle integral therewith and a longitudinal slot extending along saidcylindrical body, the width of said slot being slightly less than theclosed lower end of said-tube, the walls of said cylindrical bodypossessing a slight resiliency whereby when said key is slippedlaterally over said closed lower end, it is prevented from accidentallyslipping ofi the end of said tube and from sliding freely sidewise onsaid tube, yet capable of being withdrawn from the tube while woundaround the key.

2. A key for a collapsible tube, the closed lower end of which tube isthicker than two wall thicknesses of said tube; comprising a cylindricalbody; a handle integral therewith; and a longitudinal slot extendingalong said cylindrical body, the width of the slot being less than thethickness of the closed lower end of the tube; the walls of saidcylindrical body possessing a slight resiliency, whereby when said keyis slipped laterally over said closed lower end, with the lower end ofthe tube in the cylindrical body and protruding through the slot, it isprevented from accidentally slipping oil! the end of said tube, yetcapable of being withdrawn from the tube while wound around the key; andstop means on said key to control the limit of the transverse movementof said key as it is slipped over the lower end of said tube.

3. A key for winding a collapsible tube having a closed flat end, saidkey being made of a piece of sheet metal and comprising a tubularportion having opposed edges disposed in spaced rela-- tion to provide aslot for receiving said tube and a handle integral therewith andconnected to one end of the tubular portion along substantially half thecircumference thereof and formed with a rounded depression adjacent saidend of the tubular portion said depression having a gradual change inform from round to flat, in every directim from the point at which thetube body is attached to the handle portion whereby a strong and rigidconnection between the tubular portion and the handle is provided.

4. A key for winding a collapsible tube, said key comprising a piece ofsheet metal bent into tubular form with opposite edges in spacedrelation and forming a longitudinally extending slot for receiving theclosed end of the tube, said sheet metal having a projection on one ofsaid edges forming an abutment to limit relative movement longitudinallyof the key, and a handle for turning the key.

5'. A key ior winding a collapsible tube, said key comprising a piece ofsheet metal bent into tubular form with opposite edges in spacedrelation and forming a longitudinally extending slot for receiving theclosed end of the tube, said sheet metal having a projection on one ofsaid edges forming an abutment to limit relative movement longitudinallyof the key, the opposite edge being recessed to an extent at leastcomplementary to said projection.

' the closed ilat end oi. the collapsible tube and retain said closedflat end irictionally in position against accidental displacement, saidkey structurally adapted to be withdrawn from the tube when fully woundaround the tubular portion of said key by laterally withdrawing said keyfrom said tube against said frictional action, and a 'handle, integralwith said tubular portion, and

formed with a rounded depression adjacent said

